Tag Archives: better than bouillon

My 2012 year which I loosely like to call “A Glass Half Full” was exactly that. One of my greatest discoveries is that I like a glass to be poured more than half full. What took me so long?  The truth is I think I have always liked everything half full and I’d say it’s pretty much the lens through which I experience life. But in real hard truthful life – I really do like the glass to be full. Like this one! This one was taken in California but my love of this one compelled me to drag 7 people to the Portuguese Club almost for the sole reason that they poured wine equally as full and only charged $4.99. These are the things that impress me.

So I’m going to kick off my list of 2012’s greatnesses with my discovery of :

1. a glass half full is a remarkable thing and even better when it’s cheap and can be found around the world in multiple places.

2. That Joe’s Cafe on Commercial Drive still serves the best ever espresso and now also serves Porto also for $4.99 for a very full glass. It happens to be right next to the Portuguese Club so you can really fill your boots on a glass half full at $4.99 prices.

3. That I don’t need to make pots of boiling vegetable stock anymore – that ‘Better Than Bouillon‘ is one of this year’s greatest culinary discoveries.

4. In my search to broaden my vegetable consumption beyond tomatoes and whatever one puts in salad – I have discovered some fantastic vegetables like Kale. Wow – do I ever love Kale (so much so that I’m capitalizing it ). Not only do I love Kale in general but I especially love this recipe that I got from my friend Bonnie at Shiny Tomato. A new soup also features my two new favourite vegetables – Butternut Squash and Kale.

5. That my love of animals has led me (via Janet) to discover the Moose Jaw Humane Society who happen to be amazingly great marketers in the best sense of the word – they’ve created a sense of place, personality, purpose and fun around the more sober idea of saving animals lives. Kudos. Everyday I look forward to seeing what #fatboy is up to or any of the other animals.

6. That my interest in sustainability has led me to meet some extraordinary women and men who challenge me to learn something completely outside of my usual comfort zone and inspire me to change my life ever so slowly.

7. That learning about sustainability has allowed me to see life through an entirely different lens – that I understand that even for those who don’t believe in climate change there is still the as yet unresolved equation of resources (natural capital) versus population and consumption.

8. That my phone phobia does not extend to my brother who I enjoy talking to almost every day.

9. That I’ve missed reading fiction – my first true love and that every book I’ve enjoyed this year confirms it. 1Q84, 11/22/63 and very much looking forward to reading the biography of David Foster Wallace (okay – that’s non-fiction)

10. That I miss my dog Reuben like crazy. That I had no idea that an animal could give me a kind of love that I thought people reserved for each other -but that it’s so much more complicated with people and in so many ways so pure with animals. That I learned from Dave to give everything I’ve got. And watching him give everything he had to Reub was pure sweetness.

11. That no matter how much time passes I still miss my mom and I always hope that she’ll show up in my dreams.

12. That I’m in debt to all the generous people who’s paths I crossed this year because they make me a better person.

13. That I love my sisters no matter what.

14. That my niece makes me laugh like a hyena especially when she tells me that she drops boyfriends for slamming the Dutch and expressing an interest in reading 50 Shades of Gray.

15. That I met the best veterinarian and his name is Dr. R. Galloway. He is that amazing and rare combination of someone who has technical expertise combined with empathy and a real love of animals. He has no idea how rare he is.

16. That the world never comes to an end no matter how much you think it will.

17. That I will never overcome my shallow love for buying clothes.

18. That I love to laugh and dance and I plan on doing much more in the coming year – the year I have tentatively named “The Year of Doing it Differently” and making sure I do it.

19. That I’m going to figure out a way to bike to work in my heels without breaking a sweat.

20. That a hair straightener is my greatest discovery in life so far.

21. That I’m madly in love with the moisturizer I found that is so pure  (and inexpensive I might add) it could also serve as salad dressing in  pinch.

22. That my almost daily pictures of Sloan fill me with joy.

23. Camping with Reuben and Dave.